Dragon Ball is a series that needs no introduction. The series started out as a humble adventure manga, with its battles not really being the key focus early on in the series. However, as time went on, the arcs evolved to encompass everything from martial arts tournaments to intergalactic threats. Prompting Goku to reach new levels of power as Dragon Ball slowly but surely evolved into a battle shonen manga.
Despite how legendary Dragon Ball is, its representation of females in the main story hasn't been all that great. This is mainly because the series is a product of its time when inclusivity wasn't a huge issue, and Dragon Ball Super has definitely played its part in ensuring that strong and powerful women take center stage as antagonists when the need arises. Keeping this in mind, here are some of the best female villains in the series that have appeared to date.
8 Bonyu
Bonyu is a new character added in Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, serving as a new member of the Ginyu Force. She doesn't really play a major role in the story, serving as an extra enemy that players can fight in the training chamber if they wish to hone their skills and level up.
The only thing really going for Bonyu is the fact that her design was provided by Toriyama himself. However, that doesn't excuse just how much of an afterthought she feels like in the game, and fans can only hope that she gets her time in the limelight in later entries.
7 Zangya
The Dragon Ball Z movies are all pretty great in their own right, with the nostalgia experienced by fans being quite immense when they check out these classic stories. One such movie whose events take place after the advent of the Cell Games is Bojack Unleashed.
During a martial arts tournament held by a wealthy businessman for his son, a villain called Bojack and his entourage of Galaxy Soldiers land on Earth to wreak havoc. One of his partners is Zangya, an alien with curly hair who seems pretty strong, and it's genuinely shocking to see Bojack use her like a human shield while fighting Gohan in his Super Saiyan 2 form.
6 Android 21
Another villain introduced in the games, many people considered Android 21's presence to be non-canon. However, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero put a stop to this train of thought, clearly displaying her picture when the movie gave some much-needed exposition about the state of the Red Ribbon Army.
She's a diabolical villain who appears to cause havoc and mayhem during the events of Dragon Ball FighterZ. She can transform into an even more powerful version of herself, making her quite an imposing threat in every way.
5 Brianne
The Tournament of Power is easily the highlight of Dragon Ball Super, with both fight choreography and the animation quality reaching the heights that should've arguably been there from the get-go. The characters who end up fighting the team from Universe 7 may not be antagonists per se, but they are trying their best to knock the lovable heroes out of the tournament, which could possibly erase their entire existence.
In that context, Brianne is definitely a villain who stands in the way of the heroes who are striving to win the tournament. She can transform into a more powerful fighter called Ribrianne, although her looks are somewhat comical in that transformation.
4 Berryblue
It takes something really special to make someone as arrogant as Lord Frieza ignore an insult. Such is the case with Berryblue, who is supposedly a nanny in Frieza's family and has been taking care of him since he was a child.
While she didn't play a direct role in Frieza's atrocities, she didn't really mind what he did either. In fact, as her nanny, it wouldn't be a stretch to say that Berryblue actually helped turn Frieza into such a heinous villain!
3 Mai
Most people know Mai as Trunks' love interest in the apocalyptic future timeline and a comedic character in the regular time period. However, there was a time when her boss, Emperor Pilaf, was actually a pretty serious antagonist that Goku and his crew had to deal with at the very start of the series!
After their plans flopped, the trio of villains turned into side characters who became a relentless source of comic relief throughout Dragon Ball Super. This should ideally hurt Mia's stature as a villain, but the bond she forms with Trunks makes her a pretty interesting character aside from her brief stint as a villain.
2 Kefla
The fusion of Caulifla and Kale makes for a great spectacle as they tackle Goku, even with some people having an issue when it came to their power level. Regardless, this fusion forces Goku's imperfect Ultra Instinct form against the ropes, leading to him whipping out a truly epic Kamehameha that stands as one of the very best the series has to offer.
The two individual characters are pretty entertaining in their own right, especially with Kale having access to the Legendary Super Saiyan transformation. Their fusion doesn't last for too long, but watching Kefla in all her glory is a blast regardless.
1 Android 18
The Android Saga spells the start of a new and imposing threat that is quite scary indeed. Viewers need to check out The History of Trunks if they haven't already to see just how ruthless and bloodthirsty they really are.
Android 18 is the first proper female villain in the story, and she definitely doesn't disappoint. She also ends up becoming an ally of the Z Warriors after becoming Krillin's unlikely partner, making her presence in the story all the more notable.